Thursday, May 5, 2011

Two years ago, I blogged about my son Eliot's Magna Cum Laude award in the 2009 Avanti Awards. The Avanti Awards is a competition for young automotive designers. It is conducted under the auspices of Stellar Scholars (see link for more information).

In some years (such as in 2009) the Avanti Awards is an open competition. In other years, students who have shown aptitude in automotive design are selected and commissioned to produce a new design. The designs are to capture the spirit and some of the essence of the Studebaker Avanti, which was an incredible, forward-thinking automobile which premiered in the 1963 model year.

For 2011, my son Eliot Erlandson was offered the Avanti Awards commission, and he accepted eagerly and gratefully. After his best efforts were turned in, a "star committee" of automotive enthusiasts rated his design in terms of rendering, practicality and function, and originality. The level of the award is determined by the committee members' ratings.

I am pleased to announce that Eliot's design won the Summa Cum Laude award for the 2011 Avanti Awards! Here is the write-up at the Stellar Scholars site (click on "Avanti Awards", then scroll to the bottom), and here is the announcment on the Avanti website.

Here are the three views of the design which Eliot submitted.

(background photo credit: Philip Dattilo)

A brief awards ceremony was held at the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn. Ms. Patricia Emery (Stellar Scholars Co-Chair) made the presentation. The trophy is truly a thing of beauty, and Eliot will treasure it for a lifetime.